WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the war against Iran aims to destroy its missiles, navy and nuclear program, and not to embark on a “utopian” 20-year nation-building effort like those the U.S. attempted in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“This is not Iraq. This is not endless,” Hegseth told reporters March 2 at the Pentagon. “Our generation knows better.”
President Donald Trump had campaigned against the U.S. military missions in Afghanistan and Iraq that lasted decades after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. During a presidential debate in February 2016, Trump called the war in Iraq a “big fat mistake” justified by weapons of mass destruction that didn’t exist. Trump said the U.S. spent trillions on Iraq and Afghanistan with nothing to show for it.
“Our ambitions are not utopian,” Hegseth said in contrast on March 2.
Hegseth, 45, a former infantry officer in the Army National Guard who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Trump knows better than to pursue open-ended military engagements in the Middle East.
“He called the last 20 years of nation-building wars dumb, and he’s right,” Hegseth said. “This is the opposite. This operation is a clear, devastating, decisive mission. Destroy the missile threat. Destroy the navy. No nukes.”
Hegseth said there were no U.S. troops on the ground in Iran, but he said wouldn’t signal future American strategy.
“No, but we’re not going to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do,” Hegseth said. “It’s foolishness. We’ll go as far as we need to go.”
Hegseth said the military could achieve Trump’s objectives without a long-term commitment.
“You don’t have to roll 200,000 people in there and stay for 20 years. We’ve proven that you can achieve objectives that advance American interests without being foolish about it.”
The massive U.S.-Iraeli attack on Iran, launched Feb. 28, killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and scores of other top officials.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘This is not Iraq.’ Pete Hegseth says US won’t spend 20 years in Iran
Reporting by Bart Jansen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect